The present invention relates to a tablet case for accommodating, for example, circular-, triangular- or square-shaped thin plate-like tablets (such as confectionery and medicines).
As a tablet case for accommodating tablets, there has been conventionally known a slender cylindrical case as shown in FIG. 1. The tablet case has a slender cylindrical body 1 having a bottom, and a cap 2 for closing the top of the cylindrical body 1; and a plurality of tablets 3 are fully stacked therein with their bellies being superposed on one another.
The tablets are unrestrictedly housed in such a tablet case, so that, when only a few tablets remain in the case, the tablets are largely shaken up and down in the case while being carried and they are collided by one another at their bellies, thus inconveniently cracking themselves.
There is also another problem as follows. That is, when the mouth of the case is directed downward with an intention to take out only one or two tablets from the case, many tablets may drop out therefrom unintentionally.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a tablet case which can eliminate a disadvantage that the tablets in the case are broken by mutual collision therebetween when there remain a smaller number of tablets in the case, and which makes it possible to readily take out a desired number of tablets therefrom.
In accomplishing the object of the present invention, there is provided a tablet case which is elongate and which accommodates a plurality of tablets, characterized in that there are provided: a case body which is provided with a plurality of slot grooves each of which accommodates a tablet, wherein the plurality of slot grooves are arranged in a row in a longitudinal direction of the case body with a state in which the plurality thereof are in parallel with each other; a cover which is slidably mounted on the case body having a pair of ends in the longitudinal direction of the case body, and which extends from one of the pair of ends to the other of the pair of ends of the case body in the longitudinal direction; and a clicking means for temporarily locking the case body and the cover relative to each other every time the cover is slid by a predetermined distance relative to the case body.
In the tablet case with the above structure, tablets are individually held in the slot grooves one by one. Therefore, even when only a few tables remain in the case, there never occurs such a disadvantage that the tablets are thrown against one another to crack themselves within the case. Further, it is possible to temporarily hold the cover at predetermined positions relative to the case body, and therefore, the length by which the cover is slid to open the tablet case can be freely controlled at one""s option in accordance with a desired number of tablets to be taken out. In this sense, it is preferable for the above predetermined distance to be approximately equal to the width of one slot groove (i.e., approximately equal to the thickness of each of tablets accommodated in the case).
It is preferable for the tablet case of the present invention to be provided with a partition wall for dividing an interior space of the tablet case into a pair of chambers at a central part of the longitudinal direction of the case body. It is also preferable for the tablet case of the present invention to be provided with a stopper means for preventing an overlapping length of the cover and the case body from being less than a half of an entire length of the tablet case.
Having the above structure, the tablet case can accommodate different kinds of tablets in the two partitioned chambers, respectively. Further, by providing the stopper means, it becomes possible to slide the cover along the longitudinal direction of the tablet case between xe2x80x9ca position at which one of the chambers is fully openedxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9ca position at which the other chamber is fully openedxe2x80x9d.
In the present invention, it is preferable that a plurality of knots are provided linearly along an entire length of an inner face of the cover so that the knots are successively engaged with each of edges of side walls which are provided at the pair of ends of the case body in the longitudinal direction, thereby functioning as the clicking means. In such a case, each of the knots has a length, in the longitudinal direction of the tablet case, substantially equal to the above predetermined distance. In the case that the clicking means are composed of the linearly provided knots, it is preferable that a projection higher than the knots is provided at a center of the knots so that the projection comes into contact with one of the side walls of the case body, thereby functioning as the stopper means.
In the tablet case of the present invention, it is preferable that at least one of a surface of the case body and a surface of the cover is made an uneven surface which functions as a grip means. This grip means prevents one""s fingers from slipping on the tablet case when one opens or closes the tablet case.